Trucks that kill

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Too many people have been killed by semi truck crashes and trucking accidents. Trucking companies need to do more to ensure that their equipment and their truck drivers are safe. Driving an 80,000 tractor trailer covering hundreds of thousands of miles is an awesome responsibility. Truckers and trucking corporations must be vigilant about safety.

Nationwide, large trucks (known as tractor trailers, semi trucks, eighteen wheelers, diesel, big rigs, or commercial trucks) make up only about 3% of the vehicles on the road. However, they account for far more traffic fatalities. For example, in Missouri, semi truck crashes make up as much as 15% of traffic deaths. In Illinois, tractor trailer crashes cause more than 10% of traffic deaths.

The National Transportation Safety Board ("NTSB") lists the following as some of the most common causes of big rig accidents:

* Poor Driver Training
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[B' Spokes: According to NHTSA trucks kill more cyclists then cars and I would assume a lot of those trucks are driven by drivers with a Commercial Driver's License (CDL). In general driver training/education is poor and material in the CDL manual is even worst. }

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Kirksville, MO Man Killed When Run Down By Tractor Trailer <a href="http://kansascity.injuryboard.com/tractor-trailer-accidents/kirksville-mo-man-killed-when-run-down-by-tractor-trailer.aspx">http://kansascity.injuryboard.com/tractor-trailer-accidents/kirksville-mo-man-killed-when-run-down-by-tractor-trailer.aspx</a>;

B' Spokes Bus driver Training article <a href="http://www.baltimorespokes.org/article.php?story=20081224105516487">http://www.baltimorespokes.org/article.php?story=20081224105516487</a>;

NHTSA data <a href="http://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov/People/PeoplePedalcyclists.aspx#ctl00_PageContent_ctlStYrPplPedCyc3_lblTableName">http://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov/People/PeoplePedalcyclists.aspx#ctl00_PageContent_ctlStYrPplPedCyc3_lblTableName</a>;